Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,722 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,298 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vista Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $543,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,798,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 96,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,017,000 after acquiring an additional 1,795 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 32,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,775,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 285,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,527,000 after acquiring an additional 77,235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Freedom Broker upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Investors following MRK have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: The EMA’s CHMP recommended expanding ENFLONSIA’s use to help prevent severe RSV lower respiratory tract disease in vulnerable children up to 24 months old, including through their second RSV season. The broader eligible population could support the medicine’s commercial opportunity in Europe. Merck ENFLONSIA CHMP recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: The CHMP also recommended WELIREG plus lenvatinib for adults with advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma after anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment. This would extend WELIREG into another treatment setting and expand Merck’s oncology portfolio in Europe. Merck WELIREG CHMP recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Both decisions are CHMP recommendations; European Commission approval is still needed. Any financial contribution will also depend on launch timing, uptake and competition.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $147.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.49 and a 1-year high of $156.92. The firm has a market cap of $364.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 152.31, a PEG ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.